


Courtship and Dating

by LadyKes



Series: POV [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-26
Updated: 2014-08-26
Packaged: 2018-02-14 19:58:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2201118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKes/pseuds/LadyKes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Viktor's intrigued, too!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Courtship and Dating

Viktor had been at Hogwarts for a little over a month now. In that time he had decided that although his cold had disappeared remarkably quickly, it was still very likely that he was going to test out his mother’s admonitions about not scowling all the time lest his face freeze like that. He’d been chosen as Durmstrang’s champion and successfully gotten through the first task, which he was pleased about in some ways, but decidedly not pleased in others. For one thing, it only made Karkaroff’s fawning worse, not to mention the “private lessons” Karkaroff kept insisting Viktor have on how to win the other tasks of the tournament. Most of Karkaroff’s pearls of wisdom were things Viktor already knew. Some of them, in fact, were things a first-year would know. The most ludicrous statement so far was “Remember, your wand is an asset.” Viktor doubted Karkaroff would see the humor if Viktor began laughing during a lesson, not to mention that it would have been very disrespectful, so he had avoided laughing at that moment. Of course, anyone who saw him later that evening probably thought he was totally insane, walking in the grounds alone and laughing so much he was nearly crying.

What’s more, Viktor thought as he looked up from his dinner plate, he and his schoolmates sat with the house called Slytherin at meals. None of the Slytherins had struck Viktor as being particularly bright, although he had to admire their ambition. Ambition was a useful trait in many cases, although it was better if that ambition was backed by the intelligence to use it to one’s best advantage.

Their ringleader in many ways appeared to be a blonde fourth-year named Draco Malfoy, who had the amazing ability to talk about nothing at all in the most pretentious manner possible. So far, the only interesting thing Malfoy had said was that he’d been in the top box at the Quidditch World Cup. Unfortunately, he followed that statement with what could only be described as a diatribe about some of the others at the Cup. Viktor managed to grunt at appropriate moments while letting his attention wander until Malfoy vented his disdain for “that red haired pauper, Ron Weasley,” and his friends “Harry Bloody Potter” and “Hermione Granger, stupid bushy-haired mudblood.” This venomous statement jogged Viktor’s memory enough to realize that the pretty brown-haired girl he’d been admiring must be Hermione Granger and that he remembered her from the top box.

He stopped listening to Malfoy after that; Miss Granger certainly didn’t seem stupid to him, and judging her on her bloodline showed an immaturity such that Viktor wasn’t really interested in anything else Malfoy might have to say. Just to be sure, though, he kept an ear open in case an intelligent or useful statement did manage to come out of Malfoy’s mouth again.

Viktor had seen Miss Granger quite often since that first day, usually in the library but also at meals, where she conveniently always sat in a spot that allowed him to look at her. She usually had a thick stack of books with her no matter where she went. At the very least, she had one book that she propped against anything that might happen to be handy, including plates, walls, or even other students' books. The rapt attention she paid to her studies both amused and intrigued him. He hadn’t known very many people who focused on their studies so completely to the exclusion of even eating (he noticed that Potter reminded her to eat at least twice a week). The books she was reading always had very interesting titles, though he was somewhat unsure about his ability to comprehend the subject matter in English. He wondered if she’d be interested in the Bulgarian or Russian translations of some of her reference books. Languages had nuances that could help a person increase their understanding of the subject if they saw the phrase as read in another language. Of course, to ask her this, he’d have to actually talk to her, which was proving to be a difficult task. He was almost always followed by giggling girls, though he had discovered that going to the bathroom made them disappear for up to half an hour. Actually, merely going _towards_ the bathroom made them disappear, which he had used to his advantage a few times now. Perhaps he should use that trick when he actually did speak to Miss Granger.

His thoughts on how best to avoid his fanclub were interrupted by a simpering Slytherin girl. “So, _Viktor_ , who are you taking to the Yule Ball? I’ve got a great outfit that would match your dress robes perfectly. We’d look so _cute_ together,” the girl said, fluttering her eyelashes and reminding him that he was probably expected to find someone to accompany him to the Ball, which had been announced a few days earlier. It would most definitely not be this girl, though!

In an attempt not to be totally and completely rude, he merely responded shortly, “Haff not decided,” and got up from the table, heading for the bathroom before going up to the library. His followers had not yet appeared and so he went to a quiet cubby near the shelves containing books in languages other than English. There he sat down, steepling his hands and considering the interesting idea of asking Miss Granger to the Yule Ball. He was sure he’d have plenty to talk about with her and that she would not simper or flutter her eyelashes at him, and he couldn’t deny that he found her to be quite attractive. But then, would she be willing to go the ball with him? Perhaps she would be attending with someone else, maybe even with Potter. He’d noticed Potter gazing rather longingly at a girl in the house called Ravenclaw, though, so perhaps Potter was not interested in Miss Granger.

A sound made him look up from his musings and see that the subject of his thoughts was standing near him, looking at the French translation of a book on Transfiguration. She hadn’t appeared to have noticed his presence yet, so he stood and picked a book at random from the Russian section. This put him very close to her, and he was suddenly hyper-aware of his surroundings and in particular the young woman _in_ his surroundings. His action made her look up at him curiously before she smiled and went back to her table with the translation. Apparently she did like looking at books in other languages, as he thought she might. This discovery only strengthened his idea of asking her to the Yule Ball, but did nothing to increase his courage for actually doing so. He sighed before looking down at the book in his hand and stifling a laugh. He’d picked up _A Guide to Courtship and Dating in Western Europe_ of all things. He wouldn’t check this particular book out tonight, but perhaps he’d keep in mind that it was there. It could be turn out to be quite useful, after all.


End file.
